The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1887-01-12

-attA tNIA-llE-tA III on LLlt1 LlDIOGS OF
his brand new shoes, making an tine
more noise BY reason OF his superhunan
efforts to mail none at all The canary
birds brought their chorus to an aston
fsf7ed halt end. turned their small heads
sif' TE'ise 70 ilf gate him thoroughly,
eSideptly regarding him as a rival
musician Of Qp unknown genus. Old
Sandy etoppef when he reached the
cradle and SAD again very softly and
Bless my sonIi Poor little Midget
All alUne. Ii wants me to walk itI'.,
Sandy was almost aghast at fliis sugges-
ton. i wonder IL darea The room, q
cold. Midge, and you might catch cold,
and you don look as If you could stand
many more knock downs
The hlidgc. indeed tentomologic
Inieknamed presumably for its slight
body and exa gerated extremti not
look as if it could stand any more knock
downs at all but as It persisted In its
mute demand of some sort, old Sandy
cast about hin furtiyely for something
to wrap it up in. Nothing satisfac-
tory presente itself to his view The
lonlv shawl tE.ft res visible was the ono
pinned up against the window, and Ii
was soexceedingly dirty and moth eaten
that even If he had felt at liberty to in
terfere with the arrangements of the
tenant Of the room in her absence he
would not have used it. The Midge,
growing tired of his unexplained inaetiy-
ity, einitteda low wall from its small,
parchetls throat which seemed to throw
old Sandy completely on his beam ends.
Don't cry, Nudge. Bless my soul,
don't cry, You shall haye walk )"
With sudden decision he jerked OFF
his old dftweed coat which, though cruel
ly Inadequate ont there on the wind
swept streets even when he had been
weather boarded with hisiwooden adyer-
tissments. would doubtless present a
Injurious contrast for2the .Midge to the
wrinklcd and GRUMPY quilt that he was
then enyelOped IN.
He did &C rather cfunisily, but the
Nudge was no pampered darling of for
tune and allowed himself to be rolled
face downward and incased in old
Sandy'sl coat withspt protest. Only
once he gave a sigh of relief when he
was finally hoisted high up and laid
against Sandy's restless breast, with his
small hot head resting on the old mans
uncoated shoulder When old Sandy.
began to creaS soberly backward and
forward over tile bare floor in his vocal
shoes. the canary birds, concluding by
this time eItht.r that he was a harmless
sort of monster whose presence should
not be allowed to curtail their enjoy
ment of the s. nshine, or else that the
sounds em;tteJ by those shoes must he
drowne1 at all hazards, began singing
again sith all the capacity of six little
yellow throats. Sandy quite approved
of this performance on their part, and
stationing himself in the very broadest
sunbeam he could find he turned his
back toward the cages so as to bring the
Midge's weazened face close to pretty
things singing there SO airily in the sun
shine and singing as if there had never
had heart acled or broken in all this
hard world. Purity burds singing for
hiidge!''
de said 1t very persuasivelyl. but the
Midge signified his disapproval of this
halt by bringing his small, cold feet
into convulsive contact with Sandy's
stomach. and clutching feebly at the
shirt collar against which one hot little
claw rested.
I'm an idiot, Midge. of course am.
What's the purity birds to you when you
amt ever been out of sight or hearing
of their everlasting wobblings But
there! money is in 'eln, 8fidge. 1 won
der where she is all this time and fun
of contrition for his error in Judgment
old Sandy resumed his tramp while the
Midge lay motionless in his inexperienced
arms. 1t seemed to him very long
time that he creaked up and down that
bare foored room with the Midge's little
hot head resting on his shoulder. Long
enough for him to make great many
somber reflections on the barrenncss of
its appointments. he had never seen it
before by daylight. He had always
come of evenings, when he was Iegiti-
mately freed from his boards and was at
liberty to look after Jim's wife and boy,
as he had promised faithfully to do when
Jim, poor fellow, had died nearly year
gone now. 1t hadn't been much of an
undertaking nor at all unpleasant. for
Jim's wife wasa nice little creature, and
it had shortened many an evening for
old Sandy to sit in the room where the
cooking stove and the baby cradle and
the high swung canary birds cages were
all equally at home. and watch Jim's
wife at her sewing. She was always
busy and neat and trim when old Sandy
came, and careful of the Midge, too, and
that was what made it so hard to under
stand what looked like such cruel neglect
on her part now. Hc, didn't deny it to
himself that a. little later on, when Jim's
memory had grown less green, he would
like to ask Jim ) wife to be his wife and
Jim's boy should be his boy. 4 aA
Presently the door opened and Jiin's
wife stood where Sandy himself had
stood about half an hour earlier. She
was very pretty; especially ut that mo-
ment, with her large, wondering eyes
fixed on old Sandy and a flush from hur-
Tied walking or some other cause dyeing
her cheeks bright red.
h You here this time OF day?" she said
with more Of wonder than gratitude in
her voice, and stepping aside she dropped
large paper parcel on the old trunk be-
hind the bed head.
Old Sandy looked at her APOLOGIZE
cally: He seemed so bad last night, yon
know, / thought I'd run up and ask
after him. / didn't think to stop so long,
but finding him aIone''-
Jini's wife had oil this time been get
ting out of her bonnet and a rather smart
looking new walking jacket. She an
swered testify with her back to him:a
l.etfYes. I ran out for minute to do
an errand and borrow a coal of freefrom
Mrs. Merric across the hall. I made a